As you will see in many of the pictures below, walking through the streets of Marrakech can sometimes make you feel as though you have been transported back in time hundreds of years. However, when Brendan and I went to the bus station to buy our tickets to go to Agadir, we had a chance to see the more modern part of the city, complete with American franchises like KFC.
...and McDonalds... (which upsets me a little because I feel like it is the ONLY thing we are known for as Americans). I really don't think the people that I meet actually believe that at most, I eat at McDonalds maybe once or twice a year out of desperation because I'm in a hurry!
Although it was neat to see the more modern part of the city (and to know that there even was a more modern part), I really preferred to be in the old part of the city. Even though it can feel crazy at times, it is just so much more exciting! It was like nothing I had ever seen before in person-- only in movies. At times, I really couldn't believe I was there. Our first night in Marrakech, we decided not to venture too far from the hotel (since it is very easy to get lost in the small twisty streets, and there are hardly ever street signs visible). We simply headed to the main square to have some dinner and check out the scene. As you can see above, there are beautiful souvenirs for those that love to shop. (Although I must warn you, anybody that goes to Marrakech will end up wanting to shop-- there are just too many cool things to buy!)
Here is a view of the main square at night from the upper terrace of Café Glacier (one of the more popular restaurants/cafes in the square.) So beautiful, isn't it?
All of the flat white tents serve food at night for dinner. It is a great place to go if you are looking for something cheap and don't mind sitting close to people you don't know, ha ha. It actually reminded me a lot of going to a County fair back in the States. The air was filled with the smell of grilled meat and the tables were like long picnic tables. CAREFUL! One thing that we quickly learned is that many of the restaurants/businesses in Morocco will try as many ways to get you to spend just "a little" more money.... As soon as we sat down, they started putting small plates of "appetizers" in front of us-- olives, bread, and tomatoes-- but when I asked if they were free, our server said "no"! The people sitting next to us had already started eating theirs because they thought they were free, but we were able to say "no thank you" and they took the appetizers away no problem.
Our first meal in Morocco consisted of chicken tagine, skewers of grilled beef, couscous and bread. Everything was so good! And boy was it a relief to me to be in a place where there is no ham, ha ha! I am convinced that the people of Spain could not live with out ham, and for the majority of Moroccans on the other hand, eating pork is strictly forbidden according to Islamic dietary laws. (About 98.7% of the population follows the religion of Islam).
The next day, we woke up to beautiful sunny weather and temperatures that got up into the high 80's! We decided to check out the "Jardin Majorelle", recommended to us by a fellow Naz Graduate (Maggie Mullin) who had just been in Marrakech the week before. She told us that it was a gorgeous garden and the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the markets and old city, and she was right!
A couple playing chess
Such a beautiful fountain! It reminded me of Santorini Island in Greece with the white and blue mixture.
The tall trees offered just the right amount of shade to keep us cool from the hot sun.
After enjoying our time in the garden, we headed back to the old city center to venture through the Souks (Markets). Just as I said before, you will be really tempted to buy things, but I also must warn you that you have to be prepared for a completely different way of shopping. First of all, you better not expect to look at things calmly and at your own leisure. Hardly any of the store owners let you do that. If you are within 6 feet of their store, they will call out and say "Bon jour mademoiselle" or "Hello, come here please! Let me show you something!" and "I give you really good price!" They seem absolutely desperate to get you into their store. And once they get you in there, if there is something that you are interested in buying, this is where the hard part starts.... in Morocco, it's ALL about bargaining. At first, they will quote you a price that is probably 2 or 3 times the actual value (especially when they know you are a tourist)! Brendan and I spent close to 20-30 minutes with each vendor that we ended up buying things from, and I tell you, it gets REALLY tiring after a while.
Spices- and check out that python skin! Yikes!!!
Every corner you turn in the Souks has something new to offer
Lots of hand-painted ceramics
Snake charmers in the main square
Monkeys too!
I was wondering the whole trip why some women covered their faces completely, while others just their heads, and some dressed just the same as me...? If anyone knows the answer, I am still curious and would love to know.
Selling herbs
We had to be on the look out for motorcycles, bicycles and even donkeys and horses on the narrow pedestrian streets!
Here was a moment when I really felt like I had gone back in time- I loved it!
So many donkeys!
In one of the scarf shops, the owner showed us the traditional "desert" way to tie up the scarves.
In Morocco, you can be sure that almost ALL of the things that you can buy in the Souks are hand-made, like these grilling skewers. It was so neat to be able to see him make them right there in front of us!
Fruit stands outside the old city walls
Even though it was in the 80's, this was the typical dress of many Moroccan men.
It's a good thing the rugs were so big, otherwise I might have been tempted to buy one of them, too!
Doors like this one were all over the city- we couldn't take enough pictures!
Inside the Bahia Palace
Marrakech even has a free WiFi park! It was really amazing! It also had tons of free computer hubs with internet (like the one in the picture above) which I noticed many of the people were using to check out Facebook :)
Bus ride to AGADIR (4 1/2 hours)
Although I never really like long bus rides, this one was quite interesting (to say the least). Not only did I get scared for my life on MULTIPLE occasions, wondering if we were going to make it around the tight curve in the road, or if we were going to successfully pass a car in time without colliding with a vehicle in the other lane, but there was also a lot to be seen on the ride from Marrakech to Agadir.
I took the picture above because, in my opinion, it shows one of the more sad cultural differences. Dogs in Morocco did not seem to be valued at all. This one was digging through a box searching for food, and I noticed that as the man got closer to him, even though he wasn't even paying attention to the dog, the poor thing flinched and ran away with his tail between his legs, as if the man was going to kick or hit him! From what I saw, it does not seem normal for Moroccans to keep dogs as pets. Instead, they seem to only be strays on the streets :(
This was a happy sign for us to see at a rest stop! :)
We also saw some beautiful scenery along the way-- dramatic mountain scenes and even this lake!
AGADIR
Chicken with couscous (the best part was the raisins in the couscous-- so good!)
We made plans to go to Agadir based on the fact it boasts about having 330 days of sunshine a year and that it had a beautiful beach on the Atlantic coast... Unfortunately, the 3 days we were there, it was completely overcast (except for our last night, and it started to clear up at sunset). Oh well-- in the end it was good because it meant that we couldn't be beach bums and we got to get to know more of the city first hand.
Just another great example of the big happy family of modes of transportation on the streets of Morocco. Bikes, cars, taxis, people, and even this strawberry vendor!
We took the time to visit the Souks of Agadir- very impressive, but we found the vendors to be WAY too pushy in comparison to Marrakech.
The beach of Agadir at night time-- just gorgeous! The lights on the hill are Arabic characters... not quite sure what they mean though.
When we realized that our last full day in Agadir was also going to be overcast, we decided to take a little trip to the top of the mountain you see in the previous picture. Not only was it the site of the ruins of the 1960's earthquake, which destroyed the Kashbah (the old city of Agadir) but we also heard it had absolutely beautiful views from the top and camel rides!! We couldn't think of a better way to spend our day :) The truth is, even though the entrance to the ruins is free, it definitely was a bit of a tourist trap-- but I think it was worth it. The man in the picture above was one of the first to greet us and he kept begging me to take a picture of him and his baby goat (all with the motive to ask for money). Later, another man started to "lead us" around the ruins and told us a bit of the history of the earthquake, and then later asked for money as well. Both of the situations frustrated me, because this was a very common thing during our trip, but it just broke my heart every time and I couldn't not give them something! What really surprised though was that sometimes, they would actually scoff if you did not give them what they considered to be enough! Definitely a frustrating feeling...
Anyway, on to one of the most fun parts of our trip!
We got to ride camels for the first time in our lives!!! :)
The beginning part was a little scary because camels actually bend their knees completely in order to sit down (see the previous picture). Therefore, when they go to stand up, it is a very rocky ride!
Although the ride was not through a hot, sunny desert, we still considered it a highlight of the trip :) And maybe it was even better because, to be honest, I'm not sure I would want to be on one of them for too long. (Mine kind of tried to bite me when I got off and tried to pet it, ha ha!) The poor things are probably sick of carting people around all day long.
We had taken a taxi up to the top of the mountain, but we decided to hike down it to get back to the city. We had some great views on the way, and it was a great form of exercise.
The view of the beach from the top of the mountain
Just as I said, we had 3 days of overcast weather... except for our last night. The sun finally started to peek out just in time to make for a beautiful sunset.
Oh sun, we missed you!
We returned to Marrakech around one in the afternoon the day before our return flight to Spain. Due to lack of availability, we had to reserve to stay in another hostel, but this one was pretty nice as well. It was the perfect place to relax, and again, have some of that famous mint tea.
For our last night in Morocco, we made sure to get a front row seat on the terrace of Café du France to see the sunset, which turned out to be picturesque.